Authentic voices. Remarkable stories. AOL On Originals showcase the passions that make the world a more interesting place.

Connected features the personal stories of six New Yorkers woven together into one of the most intimate series ever. This groundbreaking show changes the nature of storytelling by giving each character a camera to document their lives. The result is a unique format revealing as different as everyone appears to be, we are all universally Connected.

Wake up to your world in 2 minutes.

Jews and Money. Asian Drivers. Polish IQ. CPT… that's racist! But where do these stereotypes come from? Comedian Mike Epps explores the backstories of this humor and how history and fact often distorts into a snide – but sometimes funny – shorthand.

"INSPIRED" features celebrities, visionaries and some of the biggest newsmakers of our generation, recounting the stories behind their biggest, life-changing moments of inspiration.

In a compelling series of verite encounters, Win Win provides unique access into the minds and lives of the world’s most-celebrated entrepreneurs and athletes.

Explore what it means to be human as we rush head first into the future through the eyes, creativity, and mind of Tiffany Shlain, acclaimed filmmaker and speaker, founder of The Webby Awards, mother, constant pusher of boundaries and one of Newsweek’s “women shaping the 21st Century.”

Nicole Richie brings her unfiltered sense of humor and unique perspective to life in a new series based on her irreverent twitter feed. The show follows the outspoken celebrity as she shares her perspective on style, parenting, relationships and her journey to adulthood.

Comedy is hard, but teaching comedy to children is hilariously difficult. Kevin Nealon is giving the challenge to some world-famous comedians. As these young minds meet with comedy’s best, get ready to learn some valuable comedy lessons, and to laugh!

James Franco loves movies. He loves watching them, acting in them, directing them, and even writing them. And now, he’s going to take some of his favorite movie scenes from the most famous films of all time, and re-imagine them in ways that only James can.

The story of punk rock singer Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! who came out as a woman in 2012, and other members of the trans community whose experiences are woefully underrepresented and misunderstood in the media.

Executive produced by Zoe Saldana (who will be the subject of one episode), a celebrity travels back to their hometown to pay tribute to the one person from their past (before they were famous) who helped change their life by giving them an over-the-top, heart-felt surprise.

Enter the graceful but competitive world of ballet through the eyes of executive producer, Sarah Jessica Parker. This behind-the-scenes docudrama reveals what it takes to perform on the ultimate stage, the New York City Ballet. Catch NYCB on stage at Lincoln Center.

Park Bench is a new kind of "talking show" straight from the mind of born and bred New Yorker and host, Steve Buscemi.

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) BY SCOTT MALONE ANCHOR NEVILLE MILLER With the fiscal cliff in the rearview mirror, Washington lawmakers are preparing for their next great debate — over raising the debt ceiling. But some are buying into an unusual fix for the country’s growing problem. First, some context. “There has been talk of minting a trillion dollar coin. Economists, legal scholars, even a congressman suggest it could be used to pay the nation’s debt.” (Via WCMH ) “Here’s how it works. There are limits to the amount of paper money and coins the government can produce. But there is a loophole for coins made out of platinum.” (Via KMBC ) “The government is allowed by law to mint platinum coins of any amount. Just deposit a trillion dollar coin into the federal reserve and we’re suddenly below the debt ceiling, right?” (Via KOB ) The coin course of action doesn’t require congressional consent - but there is a congressman behind the idea. New York Democrat Jerry Nadler appeared on MSNBC to explain the benefits of the big-buck coin. “And then the treasury can pay its bills. Now you’re not increasing borrowing, you’re not borrowing anything. You’re not having inflation ‘cause you’re not spending more money. You’re still spending the amount of money that congress voted to spend.” Nadler and other supporters say the big piece of pocket change could help the president buy more time as lawmakers fight over the debt ceiling. But analysts at Fox News say this so-called solution is a sign of the times. “It spoke of our times, where we are going through hoops to come up with creative ways to keep the game going rather than just deal with the debt. It’s gone up 60% under the president’s watch.” CNN spoke with several Republicans about the issue, and they say the idea of the trillion dollar coin is all just a fairy tale. “This is waving pixie dust over the debt and pretending that the debt is going to go away by this, what I view as just another one of these washington gimmicks. And minting new coins isn’t gonna do anything about that fundamental problem.” One analyst for Fox Business says: with the precedent a move like this would set, why stop at a one trillion dollar coin? “Once we mint the trillion dollar coin, I think then the next move should be minting the gazillion dollar coin because I think that’s completely realistic.” President Obama has not made any indication he’s buying into the idea — though he’s also said he won’t negotiate with Congress over the debt ceiling.

Newsy is multi-source, multi-platform video news. It’s the only video news service that allows users to compare bias by highlighting nuances in reporting. Through short professionally produced videos for mobile devices and the web, Newsy provides context with convenience - making you smarter, faster.